LIFE OF GENERAL DON MANUELDE MIER Y TERANAS IT AFFECTED TEXAS-MEXICAN RELATIONSOHLAND MORTON(Continued)CHAPTER II.INSPECTION OF TEXAS, 1828-1829By 1800, Texas was one of a group of political subdivisionsof New Spain known as the Provincias Internas, the InteriorProvinces. In 1813, these provinces were divided geographical-ly into an eastern and a western group. Texas, Coahuila, NuevoLe6n, and Nuevo Santander (now Tamaulipas) were includedin the group known as the Provincias Internas de Oriente, orEastern Interior Provinces. A commandant, with headquartersat Monterrey, exercised both civil and military control overthem; within the province of Texas, the highest civil authoritywas the governor at San Antonio de B6xar. A military com-mander was in charge of all troops in Texas; his headquarterswere also at B6xar. In each settlement there was an ayunta-miento presided over by an alcalde; the authority of thesemunicipal councils was limited to purely local and minor mat-ters. Texas was looked upon by Spain as a missionary province;the centers of Spanish culture and influence were the missions.Those of most importance were located at B6xar, La Bahia(Goliad), and in the neighborhood of Nacogdoches; presidioshad been established to furnish protection to the missionarycenters. An important, but extremely troublesome element ofthe population of early Texas was its Indian tribes; the in-habitants were in a constant state of fear because of the frequentattacks on the missionary centers by the Comanches, Apaches,and other hostiles.Before the close of the eighteenth century, Spain becameaware of a new danger to her interests in Texas, that of theAnglo-Americans. The transfer of Louisiana to Spain in 1762eliminated the danger of French encroachment, but Spanishauthorities at New Orleans had to guard against the immigra-tion of inhabitants of the United States into the region. One[29]